I knew you'd weigh in eventually on this thread. I would definitely appreciate it if on your next visit to Daytona you could check at the Aku Tiki/Trader's and see if you can find out the true story. As I said, if the handles were really stolen then I would be happy to return them. Thanks much.

This time 2 bidders bite, (including me), but not the private bidder from last time. My final bid is $56.00. I e-mail the seller and ask what his Reserve was, because I might be willing to meet it. He e-mails back and tells me that the Reserve is $125.00, BUT before I can reply, he re-lists the auction with a buy-it-now of $56 and lets me know. I, of course, snap it up.

My guess is that the first time through, the seller or a close friend bid on the auction himself, to create interest and validate his price. When no one took the bait, he re-listed lower. Why else would he spurn the $295 bid from the private bidder in favor of my $56 bid? Also the quickness with which he capitulated to my $56 bid when I offered more, leads me to believe that he wanted to unload these quickly without any more hassle.

The only other explanation I can think of is that he had two sets of the door handles and unloaded the first to the private bidder for $295. But if this were the case, why would he start the second pair at such a drastically lower price when they were in good shape? And why would he use the same set of photos? Something doesn't sound right here.

my hubby and I were at traders the 2nd week of july and all witco and handles that we know of are there and intact. They seemed quite proud of the tiki items there considering we were two goofballs taking pictures of everything. So unless they were taken in the night between then and now they might just be either a spare set or from some other now defunct place, considering you see tons of the same witco all over Daytona, it wouldn't surprise me if there were a couple of the same sets of handles.

my hubby works in daytona actually, I will get him to stop by and peek sometime.

I hate these idiots who can't even make a decent effort to be halfway sneaky. Makes me want to become ebay's own Travis Bickle. Send me his address and maybe I'll go pee on his flowerbed. Better yet, if it turns out they were stolen then turn him in to the restaurant owner(s).

You're right. If he was really smart he would have also used the word "Tiki", taken clearer photos, and probably have made $400 instead of $50.

Here's what we know so far:

1. The case is really strong that these are the actual door handles in Humuhumu's photo. I've really scrutinized the real handles and they match up exactly - down to the small piece of brass that didn't pop out of the mouth when the handle on the left was cast, and the gouge on the chin. (see red arrows on my photo and compare with Humu's photo). Plus the seller lives in Daytona Beach. Too much of a coincidence.

2. We know the seller is dishonest, using two different shill usernames to drive up prices on his auctions. I also checked out the seller's name and address on the internet hoping to find him connected to some construction or remodelling firm, but nothing comes up.

The conclusions don't look good. I'm frankly expecting the worst when Kailuageoff or Tiki Troll's husband visits the Trader's. We have enough right now to report the seller to eBay for fraudulantly using multiple usernames, but I'd like to wait till we have the final report from the Daytona TC'ers before I do anything. If the handles are in fact stolen, then I'd like to report everything to eBay at that point in time. Thanks all. This has become a super-interesting post!

I used this great resource on the Internet called Critiki to find the phone number to the Trader's Restaurant. I called them up and talked to the manager. I asked him if he was missing the handles off the front doors, and he said they were. The reason they're gone is because he took them off the doors and sold them on ebay.

So, assuming the guy on the other end of the phone was actually the manager, looks like there's nothing criminal here except the uncaringness of a non-tiki person.

Sabu,
I think they are brass. Bronze is not generally used like that. Considering what you say they weigh, they are worth what you paid in weight. Brass is valuable and one of the primary reasons it's hard to find things like old ship lamps. Over the years they were worth more as brass than as ship lamps.
This thread goes to show, you can't pull anything over on the "family." We will find you, and we keep track of all tiki!
_________________"Mai-Kai: History & Mystery of the Iconic Tiki Restaurant" the book

With the first pictures I was like, those look like the door handles at Bali Hai.

Then I started thinking about the time I found a Hawaiian Village of Tampa mug at a local antique store here is Tampa. The ladies at the counter talked to me for 30 minutes about how they remembered the Hawaiian Village and how neat it was, but there was a sinister twist. Apparently it was also a hangout for local/visiting mafia types! I really need to go by the place (It is a Day's Inn now ) and see if there is anyone still there that remembers the good ole days.

There sure is a lot of mystery and intrigue in the world of tiki!!! _________________

For those who are going to pursue the matter further in Florida, the seller's (and I assume manager's) name is Tom Sagmiller. I know having a name might make it a smoother task when asking questions to certain people or avoiding certain people.